WCTE
Encyclopedia
WCTE is a PBS
member television station serving the north central counties of Tennessee
, the so-called "Upper Cumberland" region, as well as some of the eastern portion of the Nashville
market. It broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 22, the frequency where its analog signal was located.
in Cookeville, Tennessee
, its city of license. It was the last in a series of stations launched by the Tennessee state Department of Education over an 12-year period, finally bringing public television to the last remaining part of the state that previously had little or no access to it. Some of the western parts of the viewing area could pick up the signal of Nashville
's WDCN (now WNPT) when it broadcast on channel 2 from 1962 to 1973, but the Nashville station's move to the weaker channel 8 left most of the territory without PBS service for five years.
In 1984, the state relinquished WCTE and its other stations to community boards, such as the UCBC.
The station, like its former sister stations WLJT
, WSJK (now known as WETP) and WTCI
, emphasizes programming of local interest in addition to carrying a full schedule of PBS programs. The community programming is particularly important because, being a rural, relatively isolated area, the Upper Cumberlands gets little or no coverage from commercial broadcasters in Nashville or Knoxville
, the two major media markets nearest the area.
WCTE carrys regular PBS programming on channel 22.1, with the PBS World network
on Channel 22.2, and the Create TV Network on channel 22.3.
For some time after the DTV transition in 2009, WCTE broadcasted with an Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of 57 kW with an antenna height of 412 meters. Then, a transmitter and antenna upgrade early in 2011 increased ERP to 200 kW with an antenna height of 425 meters.
WCTE's over-the-air (OTA) signal is receivable in central Tennessee and in a south-central region of Kentucky.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member television station serving the north central counties of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, the so-called "Upper Cumberland" region, as well as some of the eastern portion of the Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
market. It broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 22, the frequency where its analog signal was located.
History
The station, which first signed on the air on August 21, 1978, is licensed to the Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council; studios are located on the campus of Tennessee Technological UniversityTennessee Technological University
Tennessee Technological University, popularly known as Tennessee Tech, is an accredited public university located in Cookeville, Tennessee, US, a city approximately seventy miles east of Nashville. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute , and before that as Dixie College, the...
in Cookeville, Tennessee
Cookeville, Tennessee
Cookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. of Cookeville's population was 30,435, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's in 2010 was 65,014. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee...
, its city of license. It was the last in a series of stations launched by the Tennessee state Department of Education over an 12-year period, finally bringing public television to the last remaining part of the state that previously had little or no access to it. Some of the western parts of the viewing area could pick up the signal of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
's WDCN (now WNPT) when it broadcast on channel 2 from 1962 to 1973, but the Nashville station's move to the weaker channel 8 left most of the territory without PBS service for five years.
In 1984, the state relinquished WCTE and its other stations to community boards, such as the UCBC.
The station, like its former sister stations WLJT
WLJT
WLJT-DT is the Public Broadcasting Service member station serving western and northwestern Tennessee on digital channel 47...
, WSJK (now known as WETP) and WTCI
WTCI
WTCI is the PBS member television station for Chattanooga, Tennessee and the Tennessee Valley. It transmits on digital channel 29 from a location north of Chattanooga, and west of Middle Valley, covering much of southeast Tennessee...
, emphasizes programming of local interest in addition to carrying a full schedule of PBS programs. The community programming is particularly important because, being a rural, relatively isolated area, the Upper Cumberlands gets little or no coverage from commercial broadcasters in Nashville or Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, the two major media markets nearest the area.
WCTE carrys regular PBS programming on channel 22.1, with the PBS World network
PBS World
PBS World is a 24-hour United States over-the-air digital subchannel showing public TV non-fiction, science, nature, news, public affairs and documentaries...
on Channel 22.2, and the Create TV Network on channel 22.3.
For some time after the DTV transition in 2009, WCTE broadcasted with an Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of 57 kW with an antenna height of 412 meters. Then, a transmitter and antenna upgrade early in 2011 increased ERP to 200 kW with an antenna height of 425 meters.
WCTE's over-the-air (OTA) signal is receivable in central Tennessee and in a south-central region of Kentucky.